The public disquiet prompted the Attorney-General’s Chambers to explain the sentencing for Josh Robinson’s case, clarifying that as both victims were above the age of 14 and gave consent to the sexual acts, Josh Robinson “did not commit sexual assault”. The Public Prosecutor decided not to appeal the sentence.

2. The City Harvest Church 6

Pastor Kong Hee of City Harvest Church, whom even God apologised to, and 5 other church leaders were found guilty of misappropriating millions in church funds for bogus investments to support his wife’s music career.

As a comparison, The Straits Times reported this week that a woman was jailed for 2 years and 9 months for misappropriating $184,213 from Takashimaya — a small fraction of the $50 million misappropriated by the City Harvest 6, but a sentence of just a few months less than Kong Hee.

After the despicable deed was carried out, the Belgian attempted suicide, and later confessed his crime to the police.

Typically, anyone found guilty of murder in Singapore would be handed a mandatory death sentence — but Philippe Graffart was sentenced to just 5 year’s jail.

He was judged to be suffering from severe depression whilst locked in a bitter child custody battle with his estranged wife.

He was sentenced on a reduced charge of culpable homicide instead of murder, which spared him the gallows and a heavy sentence.

4. The Chinese National Who Killed His Wife

38-year-old truck driver Zheng Xianghua mercilessly stabbed his wife, Madam Wang Xueyan, repeatedly after suspecting she was cheating on him with her supervisor.

Zheng smelled a rat after noticing his wife started wearing make-up and receiving compliments at work.

The couple, both Chinese nationals, lived apart as it was supposedly more convenient to travel to their respective workplaces.

On Dec 16, Madam Wang paid Zheng a visit that resulted in her death. A quarrel broke out, with Zheng repeatedly stabbing her with a knife. It was the same knife he had bought two days ago and the one he wanted to use to confront her supervisor. Woefully, he used it to kill his wife instead.

He then sat on the parapet between the 8th and 9th floors at a nearby block after slashing and stabbing himself. Police officers took hours to coax him down.

Here’s the bloody aftermath of the whole saga:

Just like Phillipe Graffart, a psychiatrist diagnosed Zheng with severe depression and pathological jealousy.

He pleaded guilty to culpable homicide not amounting to murder and received a 9-year jail term, The Straits Times reported.

5. The Woman Who Stomped Her Boyfriend To Death

Another crime of passion, this time resulting in the man’s death.

A quarrel between a couple soon turned deadly after the woman, a 43-year-old Thai national, literally stomped her 55-year-old Singaporean boyfriend to death.

Sukanya Praphuttha, a permanent resident, had used her right foot to stomp on the left side of her boyfriend’s head after a row escalated in their flat. Mr Lee Yang Boo accused his girlfriend of engaging in sexual activities with a stranger after seeing her dance with him at a nightclub.

A total of 47 bruises were found all over his body, with his skull suffering fractures. Mr Lee, who was 10kg lighter than his girlfriend, was pronounced dead from a head injury.

Initially charged with murder, her charge was lessened to that of culpable homicide, and she was given a 5.5-year jail sentence, reported The Straits Times.

She was not deemed to be suffering from any psychological disorder.

6. The Rich Couple Who Abused Their Maid

As if the life of a maid isn’t tough enough, 47-year-old couple Lim Choon Hong (left) and Chong Sui Foon (right) inexplicably thought it was necessary to make life even harsher for their 40-year-old Filipino helper.

Despite living in the Boulevard Residence on Cuscaden Walk, an atas condo near Orchard Road whose units sell for millons, the couple provided Ms Thelma Oyasan Gawidan with just two meals a day, reported The Straits Times.

Her first meal, given at the ungodly hour of around 1am to 2am, consisted of two to three slices of white bread and one to two packets of instant noodles.

Her second meal would come in the late mornings or early afternoons, comprising five to six slices of white bread.

She had to seek permission whenever she wanted to drink water, and was only allowed to shower once to twice a week — in full view of Chong.

The abuse she received caused her hair to fall out and menstrual cycle to stop.

Within a span of 15 months, her weight had plummeted from 49kg to a staggering 29kg.

The couple pleaded guilty to their crimes and were jailed and fined on March 27.

Despite putting their maid through hell for over a year, their sentences were minuscule. Lim Choon Hong was sentenced to just three weeks’ jail and fined $10,000 while his wife was jailed for three months.

7. The Maid Who Stole

In this case, the maid, 34-year-old Yati Nurmala Karjo Jumhandi from Indonesia, was the criminal. She stole $24,000 from her employer over a 5-month period.

The stolen money funded her top-up cards, a watch, clothing and was also remitted to Indonesia, reported The Straits Times.

She confessed to three charges of theft, with another seven charges taken into consideration. She could have been jailed for up to seven years and fined on each charge, but was subsequently only handed a 5-month jail sentence.

This was a stark contrast to another theft case carried out by a Singaporean.

40-year-old Noraizam Abdullah pilfered $32 from a donation box in a mosque out of desperation. He was jobless, poor and had a wheelchair-bound mother to care for.

He pleaded guilty and was slapped with a 1-year jail sentence, reported AsiaOne.

8. The Telco Boss’ Son Who Stole And Forged

Briton Alexander Montefiore, whose father Neil Montefiore went on to become Starhub’s chief executive, avoided jail time and was only required to pay a fine despite being found guilty of theft and forgery.